handmade cass

The minute I saw a sneak peek of the Lawn Fawn "you're just my type" stamp set I knew I had to have it! I have a thing for vintage typewriters, so these images spoke to me. I got to work making some Valentine's Day cards to send to friends and family after seeing this inspiration card . I love how the designer used patterned paper for wallpaper! I have also been using Lawn Fawn's "jet black" ink that works with Copic alcohol markers. I think it gives a darker and more crisp impression than Memento ink, but it still doesn't look as good as Versafine black ink (which is not Copic friendly). Can we take a minute to appreciate these new "Made of Hearts" USPS forever stamps that are giving me all the heart eyes?!

My husband took over all my mom duties tonight and I did some crafting with a Gilmore Girls marathon. Bliss! This lovely Smith-Corona typewriter hasn't seen the light of day in over 4 years. I used it to write a sentiment on a Mother's Day card. I also took inspiration from a card I received recently to try out some freehand gems using a gold paint pen on watercolors. And I used a few Stampin' Up supplies (sentiment stamp and embossing folder) to embellish another Mother's Day card.

I pulled out the typewriter last weekend after a long hiatus and forgot how much I loved it!  It's been a while, because it is much too loud to use during nap time at our house.  But I took the opportunity to type up a few notes that I can send to work with my husband (tucked in with his lunch).  Just practicing for when the baby is in school I guess...

Just celebrated my 6th wedding anniversary over fondue and a martini with my mr. last week.  It was our first date night since the baby was born, and was long overdue.  Unfortunately my handmade anniversary present for him is overdue as well.  It's almost done! I decided to make a mini album with one picture from every year that we've been married, and one for our wedding day too.  I had an extra picture for 2011 because I couldn't decide which one to put in the book, so I used it on the cover.  Each page has one picture, a typed caption from my typewriter, and a little ribbon tab. Unfortunately the pictures started popping off a day after I started making this.  Then the captions too!  Dang that American Crafts adhesive runner that I had a feeling wasn't strong enough.  Going to trust my gut and stick with the tried and true super sticky adhesives next time.  But this time, I did a quick fix with some double-sided scotch tape for the pict...

I have a typewriter to call my own again!  Back when I was a kid I had this little blue typewriter that I would use to write stories and generally make a mess when I tried to "fix" the ink ribbon.  Unfortunately the typewriter did not survive my childhood.  Not long ago I decided that I MUST get my hands on a typewriter again so I can use it for journaling in my scrapbooks. Since I couldn't afford the beautifully restored Royal pink one , I found a much more affordable one on eBay.  And boy was I surprised when it arrived!  Not only was it it really good working order (just needed a new ribbon and a tune-up), but it has script letters instead of the typical typewriter font .  I still haven't decided if that is a good thing or not...since I really had my heart set on the "look" of typed journaling spots. So for now I am practicing my typing and getting everything set up to get started on my first mini book for my baby girl.  Planning to have a page ...

I love flowers!  And what a surprise to get so many for my birthday this year.  You can't tell in the picture but the orange and yellow bouquet actually had glitter sprayed onto it.  The red tulips were potted so I can enjoy those year after year.  The pink and white ones are still looking fresh a week later.  And the ones on the table are Godiva chocolate tulips! And a little sneak peek of what is coming...my typewriter from eBay is in the very last picture.  It's in the shop now getting a tune up and a fresh ribbon!

Last night my husband and I were watching a movie when I asked him to look up typewriters on craigslist. I figured that I could probably get one in okay working condition for about $40.  It was a mistake to ask him to do the search... Thinking that our local options were simply not good enough (and there weren't that many many manual typrewriters listed) he did a bigger search and stumbled upon this {$600} beauty .  Now I'm pretty convinced that I need to have a pink typewriter.  If only I had been looking two years ago this Royal pink one could have been all mine.  Better start saving up my pennies. And by the way - we talked about typewriters for almost two hours before he actually asked why I needed one. :)